Blueberry & White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Any ice cream that has fruit in it is healthy by my standards. This ice cream has such a deep white chocolate flavor combined with one of my favorite fruits of all time, the blueberry. The key to this recipe is to use proper white chocolate. Don’t just use any ol’ white chocolate because most likely it’s not actually white chocolate. If you want to understand why I use “real” white chocolate, check out this article that Cook’s Illustrated did a few years ago. If you use the wrong kind of white chocolate you get a waxy, meh flavor.

For this recipe I use Ghiradelli white chocolate bars, NOT the chips. Most chips that I have found use vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter which is why you want to avoid that craptastic fake white chocolate flavor. I also use my vanilla base, which is a modified version of Alton Brown’s vanilla base recipe. I’ve also tried a couple different things with the blueberries. I’ve used a submersible blender to chop up the berries while they are simmering and then I’ve also just let the heat burst them open. I could go either way and they’re both delicious.

Ingredients

3 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

8 large egg yolks

9 ounces sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 whole vanilla bean (I use Madagascar beans for their sweet flavor)

3 cups of fresh (or frozen, thawed) blueberries

8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped and placed in a large bowl

Directions

Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scoop out the vanilla seeds.

Place the half-and-half, heavy cream, blueberries, vanilla seeds and pod into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F.

Pour the now-custard through over the white chocolate bowl. Stir the custard and white chocolate together until the white chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Remove the vanilla been pods and pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.